One Leader
by zairaswift
Summary: One little girl gets left behind, becoming a stranger to a couple and their son. One certain Vindice adopts her and from there on, everything starts to change and grow. Time passes and things go downhill but that isn't the end; it never is. Fem27. Story based off the game Deemo's song titles :) Not good at summaries...
1. Chapter 1 - Dream

**Hello and this is the story I was talking about in Graffiti Target and Tsuna's going to be a girl and something I've been working on for the past few days.**

**Note: the chapters/ideas are inspired by the game Deemo.**

**WARNING: adult!Acrobaleno, fem!27, some violence/blood, may contain swearing… If you don't like, don't read!**

**Thank you to my cute bunny friend who helped me edit. She is staying anonymous as her account had been adopted by her cousin. She has helped me a lot and made things a bit more interesting while correcting my boring and sad choice of words. I'm a simple person, can't blame me. ;( **

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR, Akira Amano does.**

…

_Chapter 1- Dream... it started with a dream…_

This little girl is a girl with many secrets. But we don't know for sure because secrets take time to grow or fade, like how humans, us, take time to grow and age. So why did they leave her behind?

It happens. Parents who abandon their child and in this case it's because the younger of the two children was preferred over the elder. The five year old boy compared to the older twin girl seemed more capable. He was smarter than her and could do many more 'outstanding' things. He was very charismatic and shined far brighter than his elder twin.

Heck, he probably didn't really even notice his sister until they turned six. His parents saw him as a mischievous healthy boy, but he was pure evil. Even a six year old boy can create some of the biggest threats. The girl, noticing this, had a pure heart, but it was sealed away so it would not be broken. The boy however, tried to break it by directing all of their oblivious parents' attention and affection on to him, and indirectly insulted her. Sometimes, he would do something on purpose and then leave his sister to blame for. For example, she had 'supposedly' thrown glass cups at her little brother.

The crying came first, then the blame. The boy probably smirked evilly on the inside but all the parents could see was an obviously innocent and crying boy where his sister had almost killed her younger brother. Somehow, the boy had managed to pull off wounds which were only old bruises caused by his own carelessness and then whine and cry fat tears as he _innocently _put the blame on his sister to his parents, saying that his sister had done all that to him because she wanted to blame the damage to the glassware on him.

She tried all she could to protest but to no avail, she failed in doing so. Ordered- more like forced, she was kicked to the ground, and sprawled all over the floor. Upon contact, the glass shards cut into her soft pale skin making small beads of blood roll of her fingers, arms, knees and legs. She was then forced to clean up the mess and her blood that had painted the kitchen floor, she started to gather all the pieces. As soon as she was done, she tripped because of her brother, and had to start all over again. Once again angering her parents, they gave her plenty of hard blows from kicks to slaps which was too much for the frail six year old body to handle.

The day after was just as worse. An old man, presumably their grandfather, had visited while the girl had to stay in her room and her brother to go play with the old man. As powerful as he was, the old man did not notice the other presence in the house who watched him as he played with the boy. The boy had done something, she couldn't see what, but he was crying. That crying just sounded so saddening she felt guilty as she was very warm hearted. She just couldn't bring herself to hate the family who abused her so much. A flame erupted around the boy and she recognised it all too well.

The boy was praised in unlocking that flame while the parents and grandfather laughed and smiled at him with sparkles in the air, only to leave the girl wondering.

_But I did that two years ago and they didn't even smile at me…_

…**DREAM…**

Was there hope left? Half beaten and bruised, she was in no state of running away. With no ability to move properly, and no money to use to get away and get bandaged up, there wasn't any hope in sight. She sighed just as her bedroom door swung open. Her enraged parents were shouting at her about how it was all her fault although she had done nothing wrong. Without protesting, she was dragged across town and literally thrown away with no idea how to get back.

No one passed the area in which she was. She was dumped in front of a medium sized magnolia tree. She admired the astonishing beauty and before being overcome with jealous. It stood out so much, with its gleaming snow white petals, completely untouchable and ever so pure. But it was silly and stupid to get angry at a tree. Sitting herself down, she leaned her small and wounded back against the trunk, feeling the broad, rough bark behind her. The soothing wind caressed her wounds, as she gently closed her brown, golden hued eyes, in hope that she would wake from this horrible nightmare.

After some time, she slowly opened her eyes, and was met by the orange hue of the sunset. Slowly, the majestic ball of fire set, and was replaced by the pale moon. As it became darker and darker, she became more tired and scared. She couldn't survive like this. Without medical attention, she'd probably end up dying from infection, lack of water and food, hypothermia or something.

With that fear in place, she started to feel warm. The flame she had once called on, was coursing inside her, as if it was trying telling her something. She tried with her all her will to light that orange bright flame, and was rewarded with a small flame, that flickered in the wind. She watched with curiosity as it grew bigger and brighter, until it was the size of her hand. The flame danced around her fingers and she smiled as it tickled her hand and warmed her entire body. There was something wrong but it did its job as it encased her with warmth that she should have felt from a loving family member.

"Are you sure this is okay boss?" asked someone. She quickly extinguished the flame, hoping the person hoping the stranger had not noticed her and the flame.

"Yes." The second voice was stern and powerful but it was merely a cover for the warmth that was hidden carefully.

Wondering who it was she tried moving around the tree, only to fail as she felt her body send jolts of pain. Something tickled the back of her hand. Looking down at her hand, all she could see in the darkness of the night and the feeble moonshine, was something that was brightly coloured, white or a pale pink. Thinking it was just a magnolia flower, she paid no heed to it, only until she felt something bite into her hand. Yelping in pain, the people who had previously been talking in the distance jolted at the yelp and turned to the little girl who was sitting against the tree.

"A girl?"

She was crying from the pain which had eventually subsided but she could tell something was wrong with her body. The numbing sensation went from her hand to her entire body.

"That was the- Jager, take her back."

With a swift nod, Jager picked up the girl and stepped through a black portal.

"Now that pesky magnolia creature…" said the one remaining as he summoned chains out of nowhere and stabbed a white flower which the magnolia creature had mimicked. It oozed out pink goo but it no longer moved. He glanced at the tree. The tree was prone to more since it was still young. Give the tree ten more years and it should be creature free. In case anything was hidden in the tree, night wind swept and destroyed anything that was a magnolia flower in the vicinity. Knowing that it would grow back unnaturally by morning the bandaged man clad in a black coat and top hat with feathers left the scene to return to where his right hand man waited.

…**DREAM…**

"She was bitten by the magnolia mimicker?" asked his right hand man.

"Yes," said the man grimly. A magnolia mimicker is basically a unique yet deadly creature able to mimic a magnolia flower. The poison would spread across the person's body and once they were fully paralysed, they would become unconscious and then be devoured by hundreds, maybe thousands of more of the creatures, which first cover the body in its flower bodies and then begin their feast.

"But even if the paralysis wears off, that poison is going to stay there." The right hand man raised an eyebrow, or at least where the eye brow would be, and then stared at the frail body as it slept on the black leather couch.

"Are there any permanent… damages? The human body is far more complicated than ours…"

"It ranges from different people, but the younger the person is, the worse it is. That poison can severely shorten her life span. If she's kept in this frail state, she might not even live than two years," said the boss. He was not usually the type of person to care for other people but he could feel the presence of one of the purest sky flames he had ever felt from this little girl, and was worried that it would be tainted.

"There's also the possibility it might increase any symptoms that she already has. Allergies, asthma- things like those would eventually worsen and kill. The wounds that she had will take longer to heal as well."

"Is that why you decided to exterminate the creature by your hand?"

"Yes, Jager. Now, is that female Vindice on a mission?"

"She's still in the manor. Shall I call her, Bermuda?" asked Jager. His boss nodded as Jager stepped away and through a portal to quickly get to the female. Each Vindice member held respect for each other, however Bermuda was the leader and the one who wasn't as rotten as the others were- physically, he meant.

Once the little girl and the boss were left alone, Bermuda started to check for any improvements. Given that the child was about five, the paralysis would wear off after a few days. For a full grown adult of size 5"5 the effects would have worn out in a few hours. The child's breathing was laboured as if every rise and fall of her chest would cost her a year of her life.

"Bermuda, you called?" asked the female as she stepped into view. She scanned the room, and looked suspiciously at the resting human child

"As of today, you are to take care of the child until she is fit to return to her family," said Bermuda.

"Of course, Bermuda-sama. I will take utmost care with the young child." The female's name was Elma. An Italian name for 'protection.' Despite being the only female of the Vindice, she had kept up her name as being the protector of the Vindice. Constantly at the front lines, she worked the hardest and… the least. Because the Vindice had literally never gotten into any trouble, she was often at the manor, protecting it from any loose creatures that would dare infiltrate them. She also kept the prisoners in the Vendicare alive and imprisoned while doing what normal females do. Despite her bandaged appearance, underneath it was a dead female body. Compared to the others, she was a bit more humanoid than Small Gia, although she was older than the half the members in the Vindice.

Since the little girl in front of her reminded her of how she ended up dying, which was not a good experience, she felt pity for her and thought of different reasons of why Bermuda-sama would keep her. She inspected the child's body, finding multiple wounds and then got to her hand where a strange mark was. Without any knowledge of how she ended up here, Elma decided to get on with it and do what she could.

Always getting hurt when she was younger, she often had to help herself to the range of bandages and cotton buds with antiseptic. The fragile girl seemed to have shown no signs of fighting back, so she was just really weak or was already hurt badly enough. Picking up the girl, she went towards the infirmary where the other Vindice members would only go should they have an arm or a leg unattached to their rotting bodies.

Her previous element was sun, so she was also the healer of the Vindice. Laying the small body on the cloth bed, she took off her cape and some of the bandages in order to begin her work. The small glass shards that were stuck in her palms made her job harder and they would have to be immediately bandaged up or they'll just start to bleed. Sighing, she worked her way down the child's body until the unexpected happen.

The eyelids fluttered open revealing large doe brown eyes seemed sad and blank, devoid of any emotion, but had a small spark of happiness that was hidden away. Although the girl did not say anything, Elma could understand that she just needed to complete her job and it should be fine. After ten or so minutes, the girl spoke quietly.

"W-where am I?" she asked in Japanese. Though Elma originally spoke English and Italian, given her Vindice priorities, she could understand all other languages while being able to speak them.

"Hm?" replied Elma, purposely. She couldn't help it! The girl was just so cute!

"Uh… um…"

"She is awake?" asked the new voice.

"Yes Bermuda sama," said the female member as she kneeled. Bermuda simple told her to arise from her position and help the girl sit up.

"This is unexpected…" said Bermuda quietly. Then shook his head grimly. There was no need to get attached the child if she was already awake. If she was alive and not affected by the magnolia then they could simply set her free. If there were any after effects at all, they would just make sure that they trick the people around her into thinking some tragedy had befallen her.

Knowing what the man was thinking, Elma tried intercepting but was only silenced. With a swift sweep of the long night cloak, the child was instantly asleep again and was taken through a portal back to where her presumed family lived.

When the child awoke she wasn't in the surprisingly dark, cool yet welcoming rooms of the Vindice manor, but in the bed of own home which was so warm and lively but lonely. Drifting off to sleep, she felt as if that everything that happened to her up to that point was just all a dream.

… _**Dream …**_

**I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter! Those who know me will understand why I am laughing at this even though I'm crying at the sadness and honestly, it was all a coincidence while I was searching for female names that meant 'protection.' **

**If you don't know, the little girl is Tsuna. As far as I am aware, there are 8 Vindice members, which are Small Gia, Big Pino, Jack, Alejandro, Jager, Bermuda and the two unnamed members in which one is female and the other male. So I just gave the female a name. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's right.**

**Thank you for reading and it is appreciated if you review. :) If you have any questions about this or other stories, you are free to ask.**

**Zaira Swift.**

**P.S.**

**Bunny or Usagi is my editor says- qoq - Imagine it as a face. A face…**


	2. Chapter 2 - Reflection

**Thank you to everyone who favoured/followed/reviewed! It's just a stressful time right now. Sorry for the late update!**

**And, elDLIVE… My god, the main character is a mix of Tsuna, Enma and Yamamoto, sort of. And the girl is exactly like Adelheid with a small mix of Gokudera and the Chief is like Dino. XD As expected of Akira Amano!**

**Guest- Thank you! The Vindice will play a large part of the story and here's the next chapter!**

**EndlessChains- I often enjoy sad scenes, because it makes people reflect about themselves and then find their own flaws and faults. I'm glad you liked it and here's the chapter.**

**awesome (Guest) – Holy shit, thanks for liking it! Trust me, it means a lot to me for people liking my stories, especially at this present time for me.**

**Holiday Kisses- You shouldn't be jealous of me. I'm jealous of you able to read this anyways! Pretty much because I don't even read my own stuff or edit them.**

**WARNING: adult!Acrobaleno, fem!27, some violence/blood, may contain swearing… If you don't like, don't read!**

**My cute potato bunny friend helped me edit but most of the chapter is unedited, however.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, Akira Amano does!**

…

_Chapter 2 – Reflection… the reflection is not real_

The moment the girl woke up. She felt that she didn't belong. She felt like where she was just then was not a dream at all. Those bandaged people with strange black cloaks and the feeling of the crisp night that hung in that place; they were all real.

She shuffled out of bed. Why did they put her back home? Did they not want her? Or was she not supposed to be at that place? The questions rang and echoed in her head making her feel nauseous and anxious. Reaching out for the closest furniture, her hand paused on the wardrobe. The wardrobe door was basically a mirror and the longer she looked at her own reflection the more she seemed to dislike herself.

Every scratch and bruise visible told her the pain of reality. The bandages that wrapped around her wounds meant that _those_ people did help her and finally, the memories of her parents abusing her and her brother taunting her confirmed that she didn't even belong to the family any more. Smiling weakly, she gathered her courage to start packing her belongings.

Although she had few possessions, she only needed a change of clothes and the money, that she hidden away from her brother and saved up from her parents before they became the twisted beings they were. Stuffing them into a small shabby bag, she knew she couldn't slip downstairs and exit that way. Remembering the strange flames which had helped her the previous night, she called on it, hoping it would do something to help her get out of the house.

Two small flames ignited at the soles of her feet, making her hover in the air. Giggling quietly at the tickling sensation, she put her feet out the window and precariously stuck her legs in the air. Finding that it didn't feel pressurising, she slowly let go of the window sill as she was propelled in the air.

Standing up right, she smiled at her achievements as she floated down towards the ground. The moment she felt the cement ground, she broke into a run. The further she ran, the more she started to regret not doing so earlier. If she wasn't such a scaredy cat, then she would have tasted freedom long ago.

The public who were strolling the streets of Namimori eyed the little girl as she smiled brightly while walking briskly.

The girl who felt like she had no regrets in leaving her blood related family found herself in a secluded part of town. It was so quiet, that her thoughts started to ring louder and haunt her.

Where did she go wrong? Why did her parents hate her? She started to reflect on her journey. Was it her fault that they hated her? Perhaps the reason she was so dejected and her brother shone brighter than her in her parents' eyes was because she was too weak. If she was only a bit stronger maybe they'd accept her. She was dame, useless. Of course parents would hate a useless child. Her brother was good with words and easily made friends. However, she was a loner and wasn't good at writing the Japanese characters.

Something tugged on her heart. Was it sadness? Hatred? Naivety? It was just something that a six year old should not have experienced. She hugged her knees with her arms and started to reject the feeling of living freely. No matter what she did, she would forever feel the pain. And because of that pain, she succumbed to the darkness that waited before her.

**...REFLECTION…**

"Jager. Come here _now_." Bermuda ordered. No one defied him. This was an emergency.

"Yes?" replied Jager as he warped into the room.

"Who is in Japan?" Confused, Jager didn't know what his boss meant. After a quickly process of elimination, his boss had meant whether there were any Vindice members or guards in Japan.

"There are none. Some are going there but not until a week or so later," Jager stated. He eyed his boss who had started to pace the room. Perhaps that child from the previous day was getting on his nerves. No. That was impossible. For a Vindice member, no less, the leader of the Vindice to worry about a single human child was impossible.

"We are going there… again," said Bermuda breaking the silence. Before Jager could ask why, Bermuda answered, "there's a night flame."

If his jaw wasn't sewn so tightly to his face, it would have literally dropped to the floor. Was it possible that one of the Vindice had slipped through and gone to Japan without his consent? Was it even possible for a human in Japan to possess night flames? The only reason the Vindice were able to hold the flame was because they were dead! Wait… did an Acrobaleno _die?! _No, that wasn't possible either. The Acrobaleno of this time were only recently turned and they were called the strongest seven for a reason. The theories stretched further and became more intricate in the mind of Jager, only to get cut off by the impatient and worried boss.

Bermuda had already fabricated a portal to the exact spot where the night flame was detected and quickly went through it with Jager following closely behind. And once again, the two of them were surprised at the child who sat sobbing to herself.

…**REFLECTION… [And finally some names.]**

"Okaa-san, where's Dame-Tsuna?" asked the boy.

"Ara, Ieyasu-kun. That girl said that she doesn't like us anymore and left," said Nana in a scolding tone as if they were never to speak of Tsuna again. The mother cried fake tears, which was in fact from the onions that she was chopping to pieces.

"Oh." The boy frowned to himself when his mother turned around to continue cooking. If his sister left, then why was her stuff in her room gone? Did she really run away with all her stuff? But even if she did, then she would go down stairs and then exit through the front door. So how did she slip away from them? He shrugged it off and continued to explore his sister's room.

…**REFLECTION…**

"It's the girl from yesterday," confirmed Bermuda. He was more afraid of the girl's sky flames to be tainted by the dark night flames. Placing his hand on the girl's head, whose hair was surprisingly soft, the flames that ran through her were still thriving and it didn't seem like anything was out of place. That meant that the night flame had just activated. It was far too dangerous for a human, especially a child to hold the flame without being able to use it properly.

Standing back up straight, the Vindice leader thought carefully about his decisions. He had four choices. One was to take her with them, second was to give her the information and then leave her, thirdly was to lock her in Vendicare and lastly was to kill her off. All of the choices would have consequences. Should they take her with them, it'll possibly make them attached to her, if they gave her the information, she was most likely to forget and get confused- she was a child after all. Then if they lock her in Vendicare, it'll hardly to any good because she would just remain asleep forever and it wasn't like she committed a crime. To kill her off was probably the last resort so it would remain out of question, for now. The little had already stopped crying long ago and had been staring at the tall figures in front of her in curiosity.

"Jager. I don't know if I'm making the right decision, but we're going to take her back to the manor," said Bermuda finally after minutes of hard thinking.

"Yes. Shall I prepare a room?" asked Jager while bowing. His boss simply nodded and then the right hand man warped away.

"A-am I going with y-you?" asked the little girl. Her eyes were pleading and sad. The powerful Vindice looked at her pityingly and nodded. Suddenly, her face lighted up and she smiled brightly which blew him away. One moment she was sulking and crying and the next she was smiling. Grimacing, the Vindice leader sighed in defeat and created a portal. Gesturing towards the portal, the girl understood him as she picked up her few belongings. She looked behind her precariously and then turned towards the portal- it was the correct decision.

The two figures disappeared into the velvety black window, as if leaving the entire world behind.

What the little girl found interesting was being inside the portal. She expected it just like a window where you go from one place and instantly to the next, but what she was in was like a pocket of space. It was dark and there was a slight chill like a cool breeze. Besides that, the portal wasn't intimidating at all. There were traces of flames and they gave off a velvety feeling as she walked through the short tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was something like a mirror except it didn't reflect your image but the place beyond it. Experimentally, she touched it. It felt like a wall of still water, but not wet. Smiling at the strange and oddly interesting portal, she went through it and was soon followed by the Vindice leader.

Bermuda was surprised, no, baffled at the fact the girl had found everything so amazing, wonderful and beautiful, as if accepting everything as they were. _Just like the sky,_ he added. It was as if it was the first time she had properly looked at things, but not for their looks but their purposes and uses.

They arrived in a long hallway which stretched across the manor and led to the stairs of the mansion while joining onto other rooms and hallways. After walking a fair distance, they arrived at what Tsuna assumed was the main entrance to the place. Despite its lack of light, she easily adjusted to the darkness and found it eerily silent compared to their quiet footsteps of varying speeds.

Pouting at the absence of company or any other bandaged people, she walked aimlessly almost tripping over a loose floorboard. Before Bermuda was able to catch her, she stumbled forward and stood straight while rubbing her head in embarrassment.

"Tsuna is Dame, isn't she?" she asked looking down, expecting something like, 'You useless girl!' But instead got…

"It's fine. Tsuna is Tsuna." The man stood back up after bending to the child's height. Since the child seemed to understand what he meant, because she returned him with a thanks and a dazzling smile, they continued to walk through the hallways of the Vindice manor. Shortly, they arrived in a room which Tsuna recognized as the room for the day she first came to the place.

"**I am calling everyone to the lounge room."**

To Tsuna's surprise, a bunch of other bandage clad people appeared. Of them, she recognised the female as the one who helped her the other day and another who was the one who accompanied the leader of them.

"As of today, Tsuna will be joining us for special reasons. Treat her well. Any further questions will be discussed later," announced the leader.

Each person in the room nodded or gestured some agreement. Others were sceptical and others were simply interested in the child. The girl smiled widely making some shadow their faces to prevent the bright light from melting them into goo.

"For how long?" asked Alejandro.

"Until I say so," answered Bermuda.. The answer was vague but the Vindice understood him nonetheless. If things got out of hand, the girl is gone.

"Is that room ready?" asked Bermuda turning to Jager who just entered the room using a portal. The girl stared curiously at the portal which closed up when Jager fully stepped out.

"…" Bermuda raised an eyebrow at the lack of response and the awkward silence that ensued. Some of the other Vindice members had shifted, uncomfortable and used to the loud shouts of quarrels amongst them and the boss's absolute orders.

"There have been some _slight _difficulties."

"And what are these _difficulties _that you speak of, Jager?" questioned Bermuda calmly.

"It's _occupied._"

There were too many empty rooms in the mansion. How can this one room be occupied when there was such a wide selection of rooms? He meant, couldn't Jager just choose another room?

"Then who is occupying it?"

"Rather than _who, _it's _what._" The Vindice leader waited for Jager to continue, but he said nothing, getting irritated, he shook his head and sighed.

"Take me there."

And so all the Vindice members followed Jager and Bermuda who were walking towards the one room that he had spoken of.

The instant the door flung open, the instant Bermuda glared at the Vindice who were shifting in their spots, Jager was being indifferent and was devoid of any emotion of either side while little Tsuna was admiring the mass of…

"Paperwork… You hide it here?"

"**Answer me.**"

"That's a lot of paper!" exclaimed Tsuna trying to read what was on a paper in front of her. It was lined with dust and when she looked towards one corner of the room, she swore it was all dust and webs.

"**I'll talk to you ALL later,**" said Bermuda in a cold voice, "And I would like to inspect some of the other rooms as well, but for now…" he looked at the little girl, looking curiously at the hundreds of stack of the so called paperwork.

"Where is she going to sleep?" asked the leader.

"Where else?" said the female Vindice, stepping in, "obviously, my room, since your rooms are all… you know, _bloody terrifying and creepy?_"

The little girl looked up at the female and the female smiled at her.

"You're gonna sleep in my room, okay?" The girl nodded happily and then asked a question.

"How is a room bloody terrifying and creepy?"

"Well, you don't want to know, but aren't you tired?" asked Elma. And as if on cue, Tsuna yawned and blushed, embarrassed. The two females had already left and soon the horror began as the Vindice leader started to leak out his flames and aura.

"**So…**" he started, "**who's going to spill it?**"

...

**SHORT OMAKE-**

When Tsuna was young, she never really minded the paperwork, since she thought it was what kept Bermuda company because it was ALWAYS with him. But, my god, how wrong was she?

"Neh, why are you always with paperwork?" asked Tsuna, ask if paperwork was an actual person. Bermuda twitch and sighed as he stopped writing and signing the paperwork.

"Well, paperwork is something _very scary_. It's always there and it never decreases unless you put a lot of effort."

"Then I'll put a lot of effort so it'll all be gone and then you can play with me!" Tsuna exclaimed optimistically. And she regretted it as soon as she said she would help out.

…

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and I'm sorry for the late update. Drop a review if you got the time, it won't hurt and I love to read them!**

**Looks like updates are finally speeding up. Hopefully I won't keep you waiting! And go check out Akira Amano's new manga elDLIVE! It's epic and I see all the KHR aspects like KHR in Psycho Pass. XD**

**Zaira Swift.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Evolution Era Part 1

**Because you all are amazing people, I've decided to update earlier than I planned. Thank you to you all who have favoured, followed or reviewed! **

**If you like card deck, fighting games, I recommend Chaos Drive. If you are going to play it, please enter the invitation code: 762006024. We can get bonus stuff from this!**

**Make sure to check out elDLIVE as well.**

**WARNING: adult Acrobaleno, fem!27, some violence/blood, may contain swearing and if you don't like, DON'T READ.**

**A small note: This chapter is gonna be much happier than the previous ones. I sort of needed the humour to be there. If Tsuna speaks way too maturely for her age, it's because she's read a lot of books and broadsheet newspapers. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR, Akira Amano does and is the boss.**

…

_Chapter 3 – Evolution Era… it's begun PART 1_

"Neh, what their names?" asked Tsuna. She was currently residing in the female Vindice's room. It was far brighter than all the other Vindices and it wasn't tainted with blood from unfortunate victims. Each room was not exactly just 'one room' but an entire section. Some of the more loyal and elder Vindices get larger spaces, but it was very empty and rarely did one go to sleep or 'rest' in their rooms.

"Hm… well, I have an idea, you know?" The girl instantly smiled and eagerly waited for the great idea Elma had.

…

"Ugh, what the hell… Hey bi-"

And that cost an arm for _almost _swearing, literally. Nothing will taint the innocent angel girl.

"Oh, welcome back Jack," said Elma sweetly. Tsuna couldn't exactly read the mood right, she's still very young, so she assumed that it was normal for the elder female to say something like that. The male, on the other hand, would have been sweating bullets , if it weren't for his loss of human senses.

"Uh…" Jack gulped. Despite his rather rash personality and constant swearing, he knew never to make females mad.

"Oh, poor thing, your arm is loose?" said the female putting a hand on her chin as if thinking of ways to make him suffer the consequences for almost swearing- I mean- thinking of ways to fix his arm.

There was silence but the female patted the seat in room while 'beckoning' him to sit. Her room compiled of sleeping quarters, the first aid, then a spare room supposedly for torturing and a storage room. The loose bandages were ripped off without any care in the world and revealed the fleshy blotched limb.

Despite the strange treatment, Jack did his best to remain calm and focused on the curious human girl instead of a perishable treatment if it weren't for his inability to sense that pain. For a normal human, it would feel like your arm was cut off, then twisted anti-clockwise and then back, pulled out of its socket and put back. It was pretty gruesome, and the kid wasn't really showing any signs of repulse.

"Is that how you put an arm back on the body?" she asked innocently.

"N-" started Jack but was interrupted by the other Vindice.

"Well, for us, yes," and then she smiled… smiled very creepily…

"Oh. Then what if it was me?" Tsuna asked. Her small and open mind would accept all the information that is revealed to her. She was constantly curious and if there was a question on her mind, she was either bound to find out or she would force her way to find out (even out of subconscious such as her undeniable cuteness.)

"Let's not hope your arm doesn't come loose, then? If that happens then you could die," replied the female, binding the bandages tightly on the arm.

At that moment, a voice resounded in everyone's minds.

"_**Someone is to be with the girl at all times. You sort it out amongst yourselves. I have… unfinished work to do**_**,**" said Bermuda.

The girl, as if she had heard it, tilted her head and then faced Jack and beamed a large smile at him. He mentally noted to buy some sunglasses and not swear in the perimeter of the female and the child. Now that he looked at it, the female was like a mother figure. Then who would be the father figure? Even if it hurt his pride that he would most likely NOT be that father figure, it would have to be one of the others. Then he frowned wondering why the child was affecting him that much. He shrugged off the feeling only for the child to walk towards him.

"Jack-san, right? C-can you look after me for the day?" asked Tsuna. The large eyes would cry large crocodile tears should he refuse, so he relented to the child's request and picked her up and propped her onto his shoulder.

"That's okay with hell right, woman?" asked Jack to Elma. The woman glanced from the child and then to Jack and simply nodded and walked back into her room leaving Jack and Tsuna to do whatever.

"So what the fu- what do you want to do?"

"Can we go outside?" The Vindice member raised his eyebrows. No one ever went out unless it was for a mission or they need to go to a meeting (which is next to never happening) or pick up stuff (such as mafia criminals.)

"Uh, yeah!" The child laughed to herself and the two of them, luckily, had not passed any dead souls*kem* Vindice members who would laugh at Jack. Well, that was one second ago. The moment they turned a corner of the vast mansion, they came across Small Gia.

"HAHAHA! I can't believe you Jack!" he blurted out. "I gotta get one of those things that take still images… what was it… cameras. I'll make an order or something."

He flipped over the small stack of papers in his hand and scribbled something on them.

"You really do have a weak spot!" Small Gia was going to make this black mail.

"Hey-"

"It's not nice!" shouted out the girl on Jack's shoulders who was also frowning (pouting) in anger. "I'm sure you have a weak spot too!"

The Vindice members were both surprised at the sudden outburst when Jack broke the oncoming silence and laughed.

"Can't- believe," take a few breaths, "got beaten… by a CHILD!"

"I'm not a child!" argued Tsuna. "I'm-"

She was going to say that she was nearly 7, but then back in her 'family' they didn't care about her birthday.

The two elders stared at the child but shook off the topic thinking that the child was probably thinking back to her poor life.

"U-um, we're going Tsuna," said Jack turning and then leaving the dazed Small Gia in his own thoughts. Gia smirked and then decided to take another route. He could consult Jager first then he can give his paperwork to Bermuda.

…

"E-eh? This is outside?" asked Tsuna pointing at the dying garden.

"We don't care for such minor things. We have jobs that keep us busy," said Jack, the child nodding understanding him. She saddened a bit. But she had bountiful amounts of hope. She tugged on some of the dead grass and then her eyes widened. The Vindice, curious, put his head over hers to see what she was looking at.

Despite the black outwards appearance at the base of the blade of grass was the hint of green, meaning it was still alive.

"But even if it has died this much, it still has some life and part of it," said the girl and rolled up her imaginary sleeves (she's wearing a shirt and shorts.) "Then let's get started!"

"Started on what?" The girl looked back at him as if she just said the obvious and he didn't register anything.

"Gardening! I read a lot about it in a magazine."

The garden wasn't particularly large but it was enough to have a picnic of 8 grown adults and a child. It was mainly hidden and had a wall separating it from the outside world. There was a tree on the side, which provided shade, but day time was dark where the Vindice lived.

From the inside of the mansion, a certain boss watched as his subordinate trimmed the grass with a simple swipe of his chains revealing a carpet of brownish green grass and a small girl squealing in delight as she spotted flowers that grew on the vines that crawled up the winter affected tree.

Bermuda sighed and then relentlessly looked back at the table after turning his chair around. He started a long process of putting all the papers on his desk on the ground around him and then turning around the table so it would face the garden, taking the chair with it.

When he resettled, he sighed once again and then returned to his paperwork, entertained at the noise coming from the garden and the display laid out the window.

…

"Give the child to me…" said the man. The woman stared at him for a good long time then slamming the door in his face.

"Who was it?" asked Tsuna to Elma, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, did I wake you up?" said Elma as she returned to the room and urging herself not to hug the living day lights out of the child. "That was a very annoying person. So how did the plan go?"

"Um… you said that I should do what I wanted to do… I don't know how it's good for the others though," replied Tsuna. Amused, the female only thought of the encounter with Jack who seemed to be in a very happy mood and was evening humming a tune 'Spring' most likely because he got it from Tsuna. His humming was unbearable though, so she made sure that when he asked for some more help about his voice, she would make sure he wouldn't speak or sing for an entire week. He was always shouting at everyone else, so he was one of her frequent visitors.

"So who do you want to be with today?" asked Elma.

"L-Lotterio." (**1**)

"Ah... you know that was him just then. You might just catch him!" said the woman. The child instantly jumped out of bed and rushed out into the hallway to find the said Lotterio. She expected him already to have portal-ed away but he was sulking in a corner, a very dark corner.

"Uh, Lotterio-san…" said the girl. The man turned around and finally got out of his depressed state.

"Do you want to be with me for the day?" he asked.

"No." That one word sort of struck him hard. The outright refusal was pretty harsh.

"I want to eat breakfast with you though!" she exclaimed happily. The man instantly brightened up and then led the child to the kitchen where they had recently started filling with food for the child's sake.

"What do you want to eat?" the man asked.

"Anything you want," said the child. She didn't exactly know if the Vindice did eat since they were always busy or she rarely saw them during their leisure time.

"O-oh…" Because the Vindice didn't exactly any sense of taste, it was hard for them to cook, but they didn't require the necessity to eat or drink, but it was good to have a very tasteful meal once in a while.

"Then, I'll just do something simple…" He pulled out eggs and bacon, the pan already on the heat with oil. It happened so fast that Tsuna had to try and keep on her toes to see everything happen. She was keen on being able to cook after being inspired after all the cook books she saw of mouth-watering food and the fact that her mother had rarely ever cooked something of her favourites.

She jumped at the sound as the toaster popped up. The Vindice member took out two plates, serving the food.

"T-thank you, Lotterio!" thanked the girl as she dug into the food carefully. It was the best breakfast she had ever had, and she was sure that this secret ingredient, 'love' was poured into the food to make the simple food extremely nice.

The Vindice, on the other hand, was extremely glad and relieved that the taste was up to the girl's standards, or at least that it was even edible to her. He started pouring large amounts of salt pepper onto his food so he could at least taste some of the flavours. The girl didn't seem to mind the alarming amount of salt and pepper.

"Then, Lotterio-san, why are you lonely?" she asked as she finished the last bite. The man simply shrunk back to the dark corner of the room.

The girl felt that she was upsetting him, so she did the best things she could do. She looked around and found what she knew was there from the previous day.

"Here," she said, as she passed the man a black object. It was a torch. "This way it won't be as dark here."

She found it surprisingly peaceful in the corner and it wasn't that lonely since Lotterio was there. He stared at the girl dumbfounded and a small smile graced his face.

"But you really should stop being in corners… no one's going to be in corners!" she said. "Anyways, I'll help you cook so you won't be lonely!"

The man simply smiled and then went to his thoughts. Would the Vindice be lonely without the child?

"I want to go to Alejandro now though…"

Well it seems like he would be lonely for then.

…

**Omake- Gardening:**

After a spending that one time with Tsuna in the garden, it soon led to frequent visits and check-ups on the garden. Soon enough, when it wasn't winter, the garden was green, blooming with flowers and a healthy tree. It gave colour to the mansion and it also gave Bermuda a sense of entertainment while he was very busy signing away at the paperwork.

One day, Bermuda had finally decided to join the two of them, only to be interrupted by his very trusted right hand man.

"Bermuda, the child… said that she would pick the next mission and…" he said, "it is a strange mission."

The boss leaned on his desk, tired and intrigued, waited for Jager to put the paper on the mission in front of him.

He turned the paper around and read the contents of the mission and instantly said that he would do it.

…

"Eh, this is what a rose looks like?" asked Tsuna looking at the picture. Courtesies to Small Gia who got the camera and lent it to Bermuda.

"Yes," said Bermuda.

"It's like the roses from Alice in Wonderland. The paint is dripping off from the flower," said Tsuna.

"It's very pretty though, isn't it?" Bermuda asked. The child smiled and nodded happily, but she wished that Bermuda would have brought a flower back with him.

…

"You may want to order another one."

"What? Order another camera? Why?" asked Small Gia. Jager sighed. He threw the camera at Gia who frowned and looked at the pictures that were taken on the camera. It was already full and the first half was all of the limbs and bodies strewn around the place and the rest all flowers, coated in a sickly red. Gia remained silent and there was no way he could delete them all and the camera didn't have a chip, which resulted him smashing the camera, hoping that Tsuna would never come across it and then threw it away and went to Bermuda, to demand a new camera.

…

**1 – Lotterio is just a name I gave to the other nameless Vindice. He's a real canon character and because no one knows anything about him or the female Vindice, I just created a personality. He's the silent type (unless it's torture) and is pretty emotionless.**

**And about that Omake, to those with thinking and slightly dark minds, you'll understand the red roses, right? I think it's pretty cute and funny. Or is that just me? Oh well.**

**For the next few chapters, they will be Evolution Era, basically about the change of Tsuna and how she gets accustomed to the Vindice. This'll include time spent with all the Vindice members in some sort of way and then the start of her real adventure/journey.**

**I hope you enjoyed reading. You are free to suggest any ideas, and I will try my best to incorporate them in. Thank you!**

**Zaira Swift.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Evolution Era Part 2

**Woah. What…1500 views… 10 reviews… 48 favourites and 71 follows! HOLY CRAP! XD I can't explain how happy I am! Thank you so much! **

**If you didn't know, a lot of my stories have been put on HIATUS, some discontinued, some deleted, but this is just the only way I can organise my stories. I'll be focusing on some stories, including this one.**

**Do you like the omakes? Are there any stories that you want me to update? Do you have any questions? Just tell me via PM.**

**WARNING: adult Acrobaleno, fem!27, some violence/blood, may contain swearing and if you don't like, DON'T READ.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

…

"Neh, Alejandro-san, where do these dolls come from?" asked Tsuna. She stared at the beautifully made humanoid doll. She reached out to touch it, but Alejandro quickly interfered. Her eyes started to water in worry, thinking that she had just done something wrong. The Vindice looked away, unable to face the girl. He took a breath and spoke.

"These are handmade dolls and they're still drying from the paint," he said. The girl understood and instantly brightened up now knowing that it was because the doll's paint would have been ruined if she touched it.

"Then what's its name?" she asked.

"… His name is Gingerbread," he replied.

"That's really sweet! Then is Gingerbread very sweet?" asked Tsuna. The Vindice hadn't exactly thought of having his doll of having its own emotions. It would be a good test but because his flames weren't exactly the happiest of them all, the doll would end up having dark thoughts or plot revenge on everyone around it. He usually used Gingerbread as a puppet and there were countless amounts of the same doll. All the other had broken from the pressure of the night flames, so it was near impossible to do so.

"I don't know." The little girl pouted at his reply, but when Alejandro had to attend a meeting amongst the Vindice members (otherwise a mission for the day), she decided to look for things to do.

She paced around the cool room, made to dry dolls that Alejandro made quickly and to make sure none of the dolls' materials would wither away.

She resorted to waiting for the doll to dry. The room was underground so she couldn't look out the window at the sky, her favourite thing to look at besides the garden. As the minutes stretched in an hour, she sighed and made up her mind. Something about Gingerbread kept bugging her. She was sure that it was dry since the shine of wet paint had disappeared into the sheen of dry paint. To be sure she that Gingerbread was dry, she used the brush that Alejandro used to paint Gingerbread.

Grinning, she took Gingerbread's hands after making sure he was dry. Giggling to herself, she played with the doll, always smiling to herself.

"You know, Gingerbread, I wish you can be a real person!" she said out loud. The puppet doll was leaned against the door. There was a glowing light coming from her palm just as she finished speaking. Something told her that she should give it to the doll. A bit confused, she obeyed that 'something' and reached her hand out in which the glowing orb of light floated towards the puppet, right where the heart would be. The light began to glow brighter, so she shielded her eyes with her hands.

After the light subsided, she cracked an eye open and brought her hands to her side to inspect the differences of Gingerbread. It seemed more realistic, the joints were no longer there, the eyes weren't as glassy and there seemed to be something similar to the sounds of breathing except it was so quiet that a normal person could not hear it.

"Boo!"

"HIE!"

Upon hearing the shriek from the girl, Alejandro who had just returned ran to his room only to stop at the entrance and guffaw at what happened.

"You're alive!" exclaimed Tsuna in shock and happiness.

"Did you get scared? Hehe~" Gingerbread said.

"U-uh… sort of?" Tsuna giggled while Gingerbread smiled brightly, just like the sun.

"Don't worry, Tsuna-chan! I, Gingerbread the Magician, will show you a magic trick!" he exclaimed as he stood up properly on his own two legs. Alejandro, who was overviewing everything, was beyond surprised. Who knew the girl had the ability to do something like that? He stayed back, knowing that it was not the right time to interfere.

"Can I have a countdown?" asked Gingerbread, twirling around.

"3… 2… 1…!" said Tsuna, eagerly waiting for his performance and then was struck with horror. Gingerbread had crumbled to pieces like a real doll.

"Gingerbread? Why-"

"Boo!" The girl shrieked once again, and there, behind her, was Gingerbread, completely fine.

Alejandro, still spying, frowned. The doll had the ability of the sun's flames of regeneration. How the doll was able to do so- Wait. It _was _a doll, a container of some sorts. Did the girl even possess sun flames? He would have to inquire about it and report it to Bermuda later, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the show that played right in front of him.

"How did you do that?" asked Tsuna, very curious.

"Don't you know that magicians _never _tell their secrets?" Gingerbread smirked as Tsuna pouted and then soon noticed the presence of another person. "Eh, it seems like someone is here!"

Just as Alejandro was about to portal away, a large spider was placed onto his face, its beady eyes staring right into his. From the element of surprise, he yelped falling into the door, desperately trying to pry the spider off his face. With the snap of his fingers, Gingerbread's spider disappeared into sun flames.

"Wow, is that another magic trick?" she asked, not really worrying about the Vindice who lay on the floor huffing and puffing.

"Yep~ oh, it's master! Welcome back!" said Gingerbread referring to Alejandro.

"Gingerbread…" he growled.

"Sorry master, didn't know that you were the person~ So Tsuna, what do you want to do now?" asked Gingerbread, "I can play with you now!"

"Eh… Well, since Alejandro-san has come back, we can all play together!" she beamed.

Alejandro felt like it was going to be a long day. And with the addition of Gingerbread in the Vindice mansion, there was more trouble to clean up (and paperwork), there was another person to feed (and paperwork), there was another person to help when injured in some way despite being a doll (and paperwork) and there was more paperwork (and did I mention that there was also more paperwork?)

…

"Pipupipipu."

"Um… Pino-san, will you play with me?" asked Tsuna.

"Pipi." Understanding him, she tugged on his large bulky arm and pulled him to a room.

"Pipupipi… Pipupupi."

"S-sorry, Pino-san, but I can't understand you that well. I just get this sort of feeling of what you mean, but if it's not about yourself, I can't understand." She saddened a bit but then instantly brightened up. "That's why, I'm going to teach you to read and write!"

There was silence.

"Don't worry! It'll be fine!"

Yeah, when a, now, seven year old girl teaches a hundred plus year old Vindice who has only ever thought about revenge and hatred on a certain person, how to write and read a language they can understand, is _very _okay. Okay, not that okay.

"Pipupipipupipi!" he exclaimed.

"Well, I know you can understand Italian and Japanese… and everything else, but I don't feel like the others can fully understand you. What if you had to speak with someone outside of here?"

Big Pino didn't say anything.

"Exactly, so I'm going to teach you! After a while, I could understand Italian and I'm still learning how to write it but, you can learn with me!" she said. The room they were in, was in fact the room where Tsuna received lessons from the female Vindice, Elma, to learn the languages she knew and along with the education standards of a child. Well the education standards of a genius child.

She received a grunt of agreement and so the lessons began.

…

"Tsu-" started Elma as she walked into the room, to see _two _people instead of one.

"Pino? Why are you here?" asked the female only to stare at the child. _Ah… it's one of the girl's whims. Just like what happened to Jack, Lotterio, Bermuda, Alejandro and me… it's either gonna be Jager or Small Gia next._

"So do you want to review what we did last time?" asked the Vindice. The little girl nodded and encouraged the other Vindice member to follow on. Elma soon found it that it wasn't as hard as she thought it would be, until something else happened.

"Um… Pino can you get the oil?" asked Lotterio who was preparing a dish of some kind. Instead of being replied with "Pi" or "Pu," there was a sign _as well _as the "Pipi" of agreement. On the sign, was a hand written 'Yes.'

Surprised at this sudden development, Lotterio found it quite easier to understand Pino especially when asking him of his opinion.

"So how did you get this sign thing?" asked Lotterio.

[Tsuna.] He wrote. [And Elizabeth.] (**1**)

"Elizabeth? Who's that?"

[I don't know.]

…

"Thank you for the food!" said Tsuna as she dug into her dinner. The flavour was spot on. "Pino did you help make the food?"

[Sort of.] She smiled, her assumption correct.

"Thank you, Pino, thank you Lotterio!"

…

**Omake- The Heart to Heart Talk-**

"Gingerbread."

"Yes master?" replied Gingerbread. Tsuna had just left.

"What do you think?"

"Of what? Your reaction to me? To the spider? Or to Tsuna-chan?" asked Gingerbread mischievously. The Vindice member, groaned and did his best to ignore his own creation's antics.

"Of _this. _How did you feel when Tsuna made you become alive?" asked Alejandro.

"Huh. Since you asked, I didn't feel anything really… but I guess there was one thing." He seemed to ponder in deep thought and a light bulb appeared above his head when he figured it out.

"Happiness!" he said, "That's the word!"

"Happiness?"

"And sadness too."

"Sadness? How?"

"Well… I thought it was fantastic and all being able to move about freely by my own, but… it's also sad that I probably won't be able to be a real person. I'm a doll after all," said Gingerbread, "and being made by you single handily, I probably have some traits that rubbed off on me."

"Really then? You think yourself as a doll?" Gingerbread nodded in reply.

"Okay, think about it this way," suggested Alejandro, being as kind as possible. "What does Tsuna think of you?"

"I dunno really. A friend, I suppose?"

"Exactly. And friends accept each other. So she accepted you as a doll, but I think she accepted you as something with life."

"How is that possible?" Alejandro quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, we're Vindice and she's a human, now is that possible?"

"… Okay, you have a point there," replied Gingerbread, "but you know, I can't think of it that way… I just want her to be happy with herself and perhaps continue being her friend."

"Exactly. All you have to do is just believe in yourself. If you don't think yourself as a _real living friend _to Tsuna you may as well go back to being the doll you once was."

Surprised at the sudden change of attitude of his master, Gingerbread only nodded. The Vindice sighed and left the Gingerbread with his own thoughts.

_Believe in myself, huh?_

...

**1 – So do you know where this Elizabeth comes from? Hehe, gosh it's been a while since I saw that anime.**

**Sorry, it's a bit shorter than usual, but the next chapter will wrap up the Vindice and Tsuna times together and start some of the plot, HOPEFULLY!**

**Thank you for reading, and it'll be awesome if you review/favour/follow! **

**Zaira Swift.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Evolution Era Part END

**Thank you all for favouring/reviewing/following! I have a bundle of ideas I want to get down, but there'll be so many new stories! OTL… I'll go finish this chapter first…**

**This chapter is gonna be a bit different. Instead of having individual Vindice members, I'm having them mixed together. I can get that over and then I can start the real plot. This chapter was supposed to focus on Small Gia and Jager, but I ended up doing everyone but having Gia and Jager more bits.**

**This chapter is going to be a bit longer so I can get the plot up and going.**

**WARNING: adult Acrobaleno, fem!27, some violence/blood, may contain swearing and if you don't like, DON'T READ.**

**Are there any questions you have? Any stories you want me to update? Do you want me to continue putting the OMAKES after each chapter? Tell via PM or review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

…

"What are you making, Gia-san?" asked Tsuna, her eyes, wandering about the room and staring attentively at Small Gia's craftwork.

"It's a weapon."

"Can you make one for me?" asked Tsuna.

Small Gia froze. Make a weapon for a kid?

"Do you think I'm going to-" he turned towards Tsuna, knowing that his answer was a no, but only to be met by the watering eyes of the kid. _This isn't good for my heart, even if I don't have one. _He turned back, sweating. If looks could kill, all the Vindice members would have died long ago.

"_So can _you make one for me?" Tsuna questioned. If there were any other sadists out there, this kid would make a perfect one- a dangerous one too. Small Gia swore, the kid got it from the woman. It wasn't uncommon for women to have a sadistic side, but for a kid… that's _terrifying. _Considering that the kid was 7, and that he was god who knows how old, that's _quite _the gap and that the kid was making him obey to her requests… that's worse.

"Ye-yeah… I'll make you one. Do you have something in mind?" replied Gia, trying to shake off the feeling of repulse.

"Thank you!" she beamed, giving another dazzling smile.

_I'll have to get used to this… _

…

Jager was worried. Not because he was worried for the Vindice members being exposed to the strange child (which can already make some of the Vindice lose their consciousness) but because of his boss, Bermuda. Now, this would have been seen as normal to the others, knowing how loyal he is to the Vindice leader, but this time, it's different. His boss had something on his mind, he didn't know what it was.

"You're worrying too much," said the female Vindice. "He's Bermuda after all, and he's still got all those paperwork from… that incident before."

"Yes… but… there's still that one feeling that I am missing something important."

"It's possible that it's because of Tsuna-chan. He was the one who took her in the first place," said Elma as she threw away the old bandages.

"Have you realised something?" Elma asked, "that child has become something to all of us. Don't deny it. I doubt that child will ever leave, but one day she will and go on to the outside world. She can't always be with us forever. She is mortal, after all…"

"Well, of course. Some of the others may not go into thought _that far, _but we should all be aware of that…" replied Jager.

There was a quiet knock on the door.

"Elma-san, are you there?" asked Tsuna, who opened the door. She then saw Jager and greeted him.

"What's wrong dear?"

"He's sulking."

Since when does a child know what 'sulking' means? And a Vindice member?

"Who is?"

"Father."

The two Vindice members just went, 'What the fuck.'

…

"Aw~ Tsuna-chan, you don't always have to be with me. Master still has me do some things you know," says Gingerbread.

"I know, but I was lonely since father was sulking."

The constant smile on Gingerbread's face dropped.

"What." There was silence. "Wait, what do you mean, by _father?_"

"Oh right… I didn't tell anyone yet. Bermuda-san is like a father."

"Eh?"

"Well… the _other man, _who _was _my father, is sort of gone from me, but when Elma-san told me about what a father actually is like, I felt like Bermuda is like a father."

_Yeah, more like a great, great (and many more great) grandfather, if you include his age… _thought Gingerbread.

"Then why is he sulking?" asked Gingerbread.

"I don't know. That's why I'm going to ask the mother."

"… And who is the mother?"

"Elma. Who else? She's the only female beside me."

"Really, Tsuna-chan, you might be too smart and _you_ for your own good."

"Really? I think it's about right thought. But the mother and father don't get along that well," said Tsuna, pouting cutely.

"Hm… Well, I can't exactly help you with that~"

"That's true."

_You don't need to say it so blatantly, _thought Gingerbread.

"I'm gonna go ask then. Ciao!"

…

"**Bermuda**."

"Yes, Jager?" said Bermuda, lifting his head from the paperwork and then seeing the female, "yes, Elma?"

"What is this about _father and sulking?_" asked Elma.

"What are you talking about?"

"Boss, is the problem-" the two started.

"_That you want some romantic lover and a family…" _said both the Vindice members turning away from him in some sort of depressing state. It _had _been a long time. And it's not like there's gonna be someone right for him.

"WHAT?!"

"Tsuna-chan told us that you were the father and that you were sulking, so what's the problem?"

"I'm not some sort of father, what so ever, nor do I know what you mean that I was sulking, but the problem is about some information I found," said Bermuda, denying everything the two said.

"Then what is it?" asked Elma.

"That girl… do you know when her birthday is?" he asked, the two. The two were a bit suspicious of the pause, as if he was supposed to say something else.

"When is it?"

"14th October."

"That's tomorrow, isn't it…" said Jager.

"And we _did _miss it last year didn't we?" continued Elma.

"What are we supposed to do?"

Silence.

…

"ARGH, what do you want?" shouted Small Gia as he opened the door only to soon regret it. It was Bermuda who just knocked at the door. "Uh…"

"Small Gia, are you doing anything? Any missions tomorrow?"

"Um… no?"

"Good. Now make something good. It's Tsuna's birthday tomorrow. I will trust you with that. Thank you, bye."

Did his boss just thank him? He returned to his thoughts. He was already making something for the kid. Should he just use that as a gift, or should he make a second thing? He shouted in frustration. What on earth can he make for the girl?

He looked at the old grandfather clock that was on one side of the room, tick-tocking away.

_That's it!_

He jotted down the idea and started planning out the design. It would take a while, but first, he needed get the child.

...

"Pipupupupipupu." Big Pino had just been contacted by Jager about Tsuna's birthday. The girl had done quite a lot for him, and he figured that he probably had to make something useful to her. He looked outside, where the skies were getting darker than they already were. The slight pitter-pattering alerted him that it was going to rain.

That's right… he's going to make an umbrella. (**Sorry, I had to have Gintama for Pino.**)

The umbrella would be useful and nice looking in its own way. He picked up a bunch of blank signs and stashed it behind his back while setting off to find materials.

...

Lotterio was going to make the cake. He wasn't sure what design it was going to be. A rainbow? It was the best he thought. But the Vindice would be sceptical about that. So he ended up making the inside the rainbow, the outside chocolate and strawberry. It was going to be worth quite the load of time, and he wanted to make sure that Tsuna would like it along with the other Vindice members. He was told by Elma, shortly before and the woman added a few ideas, just in case.

He smiled to himself and then sighed. He would make it that night so it can be as fresh as possible. After all, when he cooks, no mistakes can be made.

...

When Jack was busy tending to the garden, he was aware of the entire ruckus from inside the manor.

"Her birthday, eh?"

He didn't seem that concerned. He often thought about this day where people celebrate the anniversary of their birth. He didn't really pay mind to it, since the girl didn't mind, but after thinking for a while, it didn't seem like she would have ever been able to celebrate it because of her family problems.

Anyways, she likes roses and the colour orange. No problem.

...

"Wah~ it's so busy today~" exclaimed Gingerbread, who was still waiting for Tsuna. He was suddenly approached by Jager about the details.

He didn't really know what a birthday was so he asked his master.

"A birthday is the celebration of one's birth."

"And Tsuna-chan's is special right? That's why we're all like this and why I'm here," said Gingerbread. His master simply sighed and nodded.

"Then are we going to make one together or make something separate?" asked Gingerbread.

"Thought of anything? You've spent a lot of time with her," said Alejandro, thinking about what the experience would be like.

"Yes, she said she liked lions, and my magician outfit," said Gingerbread, smirking at their closeness.

"Then we'll make those. Orange ones I presume?"

Gingerbread simply nodded.

"Ah, Gingerbread, I knew you were here~" said Tsuna as she burst into the room. He giggled.

"You always know where everyone is. How do you do that?"

"Eh? I can't tell you. It's a magician's secret!" said Tsuna. Gingerbread pouted and then smiled.

"Why don't we go find something to eat?" She nodded and smiled.

...

"So what are you going to make?" asked Elma to Small Gia.

"Well, I've got the idea."

"Ho? Then that's good. Wait… aren't those-" she peered over the male's shoulder looking at the designs. The weapons that he was making were in the shape of the hands of a clock, much like the grandfather clock there. They were pitch black, and easy to use for night flames. But since the girl also had sky flames, he was going to make one orange with a black hilt, the other black with an orange hilt. It was stylish and could easily be hidden.

"Wow, you really do know how to think carefully, despite your rash and sadistic attitude," said Elma.

"Oh? Then what are you gonna make? Girly stuff?" asked Small Gia, irritated at the female's comment.

"_Actually, _you're right. I'm going to make _girly stuff, _otherwise known as _clothes,_" she replied, "they _are essentials, _after all."

And so, the inside bet of who would give the best gift started.

...

"Bermuda-san, is there something you have in mind?" asked Jager.

"Yes. I presume it will be the best of them all."

"I'm sure the others will compete in who would give the best gift, one way or the other."

"Then what are you going to give?" asked Bermuda to his right hand man.

"I'm going to give her some technology of this day," he said, "a laptop."

"Hm. That's useful. I will supply some phones as well, for us all to use, of course."

"Is there anything you require?"

"Yes, find some orange feathers, will you?" requested Bermuda.

...

"Um… something feels off," said Tsuna out loud. She barely saw anyone outside their rooms or where they usually would be. Something must have happened. Gingerbread came every now and then, but somehow the following day, the feeling was constantly nagging her.

She opened the door to the kitchen to be awaited by a feast for breakfast. Lotterio was less talkative but at least he didn't go into the corners of the room that day.

By the time it was afternoon, she started to suspect that they were going to do something really naughty. She was a child after all, also with an extremely vivid imagination.

Being drawn to the dining room, she could hear shuffling sounds. As soon as she approached, there was silence. She raised an eyebrow and leapt forward to open the doors suddenly.

"Happy Birthday, Tsuna!"

"HIE!"

She was shocked by the sudden 'Happy Birthday' thing but still.

Despite its usual gloominess, the room was somehow exceptionally bright and welcoming.

Everyone was standing and smiling, or at least what they knew as smiling. Her eyes widened. Was this what a birthday was like? Her brother- some brother he was, got a lot of presents but it was nothing like this! It was a hundred times better!

"Do you want to see the presents first?" asked Gingerbread.

She nodded happily.

"I'm going first~" said Elma. "Because you've grown up a bit, I've gotten you more and new clothes. Every girl must have a wardrobe of clothes."

The clothes were typically tomboyish, but there was the occasional dress. Tsuna gaped at the amount of them. Although five pieces of clothing equalled one jacket of a Vindice member, they were more than enough and also, extremely expensive!

"I'm next. Since you asked, I made you some weapons," said Small Gia. He gave the box to her. It was a bit heavy and big. She opened it to find the finely crafted swords. The sheer glean and beauty of it made her envious of Gia's skills. She tried to hold them, but she figured she needed to be stronger and taller to handle them.

[My gift.] Wrote Pino on a sign and then handing her an odd shaped package. She opened it carefully, first seeing the material of the umbrella first. It looked like it would rip under slight pressure, but, according to Pino, it was bullet proof and extremely strong, which was tested out by the broom stick from Gingerbread.

"_Me _and master made some things~" said Gingerbread. "Now you can be a proper magician!"

"Wah!" She looked at the clothing, up and down, seeing the intricate designs and the wonderful orange colour. The magician's robe seemed to be another being. Gingerbread said that it would be able to grow into the right size whenever Tsuna grew.

"Something to keep you company if this brat isn't with you," said Alejandro, holding out the stuffed lion toy. She gladly took it, doubting that Gingerbread would leave her.

"Roses," Jack said. He made sure the roses were all fresh and alive. She smiled happily saying that she would rather have them growing in the garden only for Jack to reply that they were already growing there.

"I made the food and the cake today," said Lotterio quietly as he revealed the cake. Tsuna started to drool and couldn't wait to eat everything. There was a mix of Japanese and Italian cuisine.

"Because it would be useful in future times, here's a laptop," said Jager awkwardly. It was the latest design of that time, and there were more than one because she could then multitask. (In the future, they regret giving her more than one.)

"Here." Bermuda said it very kindly, much to everyone's surprise. His normal cold voice was nowhere in that one word and the gesture he made as he whipped out his present. It was a hat, much like his, however with orange feathers tucked into the bandage. She stared at it. So she was going to have the same hat as everyone else? That was so awesome! Something was pressed into her hand. It was cool and metallic. She looked at it. It was an old fashioned key with a chain around it with a note attached. She felt like she had to hide it before everyone else found out about it. She hid it in her pocket.

"I'll be giving phones out later," said Bermuda. Everyone nodded and Tsuna simply admired all the gifts she received.

"Then we eat?" presumed Tsuna. Everyone turned to her. Looks like the food was the winner. I mean, who hated food?

…

_Fuck the police, _thought this one certain person.

Since when was this secret mission supposed to involve the police? Being a part of the mafia was already swell and well, and then the police decide to try catching _him, _for God's sake. He couldn't kill them, despite how easy that would be, so he had to run. And that was so unlike him.

The police lost him within seconds and he headed towards the located area. No one even thought about going there because of its scariness and the fact that _they _lived there. He huffed and scoured the area. No one seemed to be outside. He found a perfect wall- easy to be climbed and realised it was the garden. Since when do the Vindice care about the garden?

He leapt over easily, finding the mission far too easy. There were orange roses scaling one side of the garden and a large tree. He looked directly down and was almost surprised. Note: _almost._

"Who are you?" asked the little girl who stared directly into his onyx eyes. She was roughly 8 or 9 years old.

He tilted his fedora unable to read her expression or any signs of thoughts.

_And since when did the Vindice have a little kid in their territory?_

"Yes, who are you?" asked another person behind him, someone flying on a broom stick behind him.

"Oh Reborn, seems like you're in trouble, kora," said the blonde who appeared behind him.

"Shut up, Colonello," said the female who punched the blonde as soon as she arrived.

"Hm, how interesting," said the one clad in red Chinese robes.

"Wah! The Vindice has a girl here? What are they doing?" The purple haired male managed to land safely.

"Shut it, lackey," said the fedora wearing teen.

"Yes, this sure is interesting," said the lab coat male pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Mu, this will be worth a lot," said the floating person clad in robes hiding his/her face.

"Come on, everyone, let's be kind. So who are you, dear?" asked the girl in a strange mushroom hat.

"Someone you shouldn't know any more than her existence," said 8 figures who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Ah perfect, the Vindice are all here. Originally we wanted to invite you to something, but here's something more interesting and valuable. So what's going on?" asked the female then looking at Bermuda who seemed to be extremely annoyed.

…

**OOOOOOH! So we leave off here! That's the end of the Evolution Era, and the next chapter is going to be the start of Jumpy Star! So the change, or evolution if you want, has started and it going to move on to the plot!**

**I hope you enjoyed reading, and thank you so much for supporting me so far! Thank you! :DDD**

**Zaira Swift.**


	6. Chapter 6 - Jumpy Star Part 1

**Well, sorry about the late update and the random rant. I've decided to give up and do what I can. I.E. Just go with the flow and write.**

**Thank you for 100 follows! ****100!**** Wow… This is definitely a first. It has also hit over 4000 view! Thank you so much minna!**

**WARNING: adult Acrobaleno, fem!27, some violence/blood, may contain swearing and if you don't like, DON'T READ.**

**Do you have any questions about this or any other stories? Tell me via PM or review!**

**Currently, the Acrobaleno are about 12 and Tsuna is 8, since it was just her birthday. If you're wondering, Gingerbread seems about 10 or just what he looks like in the anime/manga, he'll age too!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

…

"**What are you doing here, Acrobaleno?" **asked, more like ordered, Bermuda.

"Ah, so you are aware of our existence?"

"Of course. We are the Vindice." He said it as if it was something everyone knew. Well, if you didn't know who the Vindice were and you were in the mafia then you have a serious problem. Who knew, it might even be an offence for not knowing about the Vindice.

"Well, _Checkerface_ told us about you and your buddies' situations of being _ex-_Arcobaleno," said Reborn with a smirk.

"**Don't **_**mention his name,**_" Small Gia growled.

Tsuna who was on looking the situation was unsure how to react. First of all, the father of the Vindice had some relation towards the strangers and didn't like them. Secondly, the man with the fedora had this aura of intimidation which scared Tsuna to think of what he did for a living. The woman seemed very kind, despite her current opinion of the Vindice. The others were merely _very _interested, but nonetheless had some ill liking towards something or someone.

"Ne, Tsu-chan, let's go," whispered Gingerbread to Tsuna. She looked back at the Acrobaleno teenagers and the Vindice, as the two turned away to leave.

"Viper!" snapped the female in the hat.

Both Gingerbread and Tsuna were swallowed into some sort of ball of flames.

"Mu, that will cost you," said the woman/man called Viper. She/he was the one directing the ball of flames which had captured Tsuna and Gingerbread.

"Let them go," said Alejandro, already releasing his chains and the intimidating night flames.

A single hand stopped all movement which shocked both the Vindice and the Acrobaleno.

"Silence. We will listen," said Bermuda. Alejandro clicked his tongue in annoyance (**um, does he have a tongue?**)

It was the first time they Acrobaleno have ever even heard or _seen _the Vindice surrender. Just how much does that girl and boy mean to them?

"As you know, Checkerface, has told us of your stories, mainly just who you are as ex-Acrobalenos, but we heard about strange activity in the main manor of the Vindice and were told to investigate," said the girl with the mushroom hat, "he told us all to go, thus why we are gathered. So who is that little girl and boy?"

"A question for a question, why are there eight of you?" asked Bermuda.

"There are eight of you so what?" said the fedora wearing teen.

"Reborn!" exasperated the female who then sighed. "Lal Mirch," she said gesturing to the blue haired female, "is a failed Acrobaleno. The blonde, Colonello took her place instead."

"The girl, you have _right there _is a part of the Vindice family. And that boy is her best friend _and _Alejandro's disciple," answered Bermuda. "Who are you all?"

"I am Luce, the Sky Acrobaleno. Over there is Reborn the Sun, as I said, there is Lal Mirch and Colonello the Rain, Viper is the one floating there who is the Mist, the Chinese robed is Fon the Storm, the Cloud is Skull the one in the leather jacket and Verde is the one in the lab coat," said Luce. "Now, are you willing to have an alliance with the Acrobaleno?"

"We have heard of some of them," said Bermuda, "And my answer to your question depends on your purpose. What do you want?"

"As she said, we are here to investigate what has been going on-" said Reborn only to be interrupted much to his dislike.

"Who told you to investigate? Do you have permission?" asked Bermuda. Reborn, who would have told him to not to interrupted, held onto his tongue. This was the Vindice _leader _he was talking to. Even as the number one hitman, there was no way he would go against someone who has lived longer than a normal human, killed many rule breakers and the rulers of law in the mafia.

"As Sky Acrobaleno, you will know that I have unique abilities of some sort of premonition or simply able to glimpse the future," said Luce a bit worried about the current mood, "I saw the events that have happened here ever since that girl had arrived here. I thought it was simply an effect of the medication I had been taking due to my… small lifespan but it turned out to be the abilities of the Sky Acrobaleno."

"I will repeat once again, who told you to investigate and do you have permission?" asked Bermuda, threateningly.

"Vongola Nono told us. The official document is here," said Luce, taking the piece of paper from Reborn's suit pocket. A blazing sky flame was put right at the top of the paper and the signature of the Vongola boss placed neatly to end the document.

Scanning over it a few times and passing it around, the Vindice all agreed that it was legitimate, reluctantly.

"Then, what are you doing on our grounds?"

"Nu-uh, it's our turn, will you let us stay here?" asked Luce.

There was a moment's pause of silence. Neither parties spoke. Then there was the chaos.

"That's not happening, kora!" exclaimed Colonello. The rest of the Acrobaleno were disagreeing with living the Vindice, but then Bermuda, once again, interfered.

"We'll let you stay."

"WHAT?!" Then there was protest amongst the Vindice members.

"**AS **she is the Sky Acrobaleno, I am aware of the different and strange reasons that she presents and we will discuss this later. For now, _release the girl and boy,_" said Bermuda with a stern cold voice.

All the Arcobaleno were surprised in some way and were all questioning who really was the girl and boy. Viper released the two children back to the Vindices' hands and the two were taken away shortly by the female of the Vindice. Now looking at the Vindice carefully, they did not wear any bandages; some were probably in the middle of fixing up their bandages when they arrived.

_So they care _that much _about the two? _Thought Luce. She smiled. That vision was not something she really found that inviting, especially since it didn't seem it would happen until years later. But for now, she has to keep that secret even if it required going through Reborn AND the Vindice.

…

"Gingerbread?"

"Ah, Tsuna, you're here," said Gingerbread, as he ran towards Tsuna. The two were in some sort of illusionary world, the one from that woman. They could hear the voices coming from the Arcobaleno and then Vindice, finding it of interested. It took them a while to understand and interpret what they said, but overall, they knew what was going on.

The teenagers who just infiltrated their home were going to live with them for some unknown reason because they hold authority. What.

"Is everything going to be okay though?" asked Tsuna staring off into the sky of the illusionary world.

"Why do you ask that?"

"It's just what I think about." There was silence between the two and they simply waited patiently for the illusion to go away. When they woke up, they were in the medical wing.

"Ah, you're awake!" exclaimed Elma. "Do you feel funny?"

"Um… hungry?"

Gingerbread and Elma cracked up while Tsuna just reddened in embarrassment.

…

"Who _really_ are those children? Did you do a background check?" asked Verde. The lightning Arcobaleno was very intrigued. Never did he ever want to find out the answer so bad. For the most dangerous, oldest and powerful families, the Vindice, to take in a child, TWO, was only in 0.0000001% chance of happening. So what had made them take them in?

"Those children, as I said, that girl is a part of our family along with the boy who is her first proper friend," said Alejandro, "he is also my disciple and our creation."

"Our?"

"I make many puppets, many to take out disobeying families. Gingerbread, is not a puppet, well he was," said Alejandro. "That girl is the one who brought him to life."

Well, the Vindice were being surprisingly cooperative and answering, probably, private questions. They seemed very proud of the girl, however.

"That girl is very special…" stated Luce. No one said anything, because everyone knew that.

"What are you going to do here?" asked Bermuda.

"Observe. There isn't much else to do," said Skull.

"Shut it lackey, there are more things that we can do," said Reborn, kicking the stunts man on the shin. (They are sitting around the table in the lounge room. You know the one with the leather black couches and chairs?)

"And what are those other things?" The atmosphere became tense again.

"… We are here to investigate."

"Well that is obvious," said Jager.

"We including you, have to meet _him_," said Luce solemnly. "We don't exactly know when but he said that we should know when the time comes. He said we have to be as prepared as possible before we can actually go."

"Do you realise what you are saying?" There was a round of surprise when Bermuda suddenly asked that question. "That _man _is basically making us walking us to our doom. Because we do not know what is going to happen to us, it is almost sure that we would end our current lives."

"You mean we die?"

"No, he wants us alive. He is going to do something to us. Even though I am not the current Acrobaleno, he will put me into some situation where I will probably be unable to return to the Vindice..." _and leaving Tsuna and Gingerbread, _he wanted to add.

"Then do you have any idea what to do?"

"I do. But I _hate it…_"

When the Vindice leader says 'hates,' it means he absolutely _hates _it and it is on the same level of hating Checkerface. That… is definitely not a good thing.

…

**Okay, I'm sorry for the short chapter. I can't go further. My writing is so shit in this chapter. Lol… Bear with me, it'll get better next chapter. I didn't know what the hell was going through my mind when I was writing this…**

**So we're getting closer to the main plot? **

**Thanks for reading!**

**Zaira Swift.**


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